An orphanage in Saint-Jean-sur-Mer, France, around midnight; at a time when girls and boys did not mix as much as they do today. Alicia clutched her towel to her little woollen waistcoat, hurrying to keep her pace as short as possible in the cold, damp corridors.
The establishment consisted of a large, old building, hastily constructed, like everything else along the coast. It was necessary to accommodate all these modest families at a lower cost, so that they could finally enjoy their paid holidays.
For more than 18 years, the young woman had been growing up in this austere institution, with little inclination to show affection. Alicia had suffered from this: she was shy, awkward in her relationships with others, and withdrawn into her inner world. She expressed herself much better with her pencils and instruments than with words.
She had developed the habit of showering very late at night, unbeknownst to the supervisors. She was one of the few people who had discovered one of the secrets of the place: there was an old shower room in the east wing of the building, which could be entered with a bit of forcing of the lock. If you ignored the musty smell and the few cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, you could find one of the few places of solitude in the whole institution.
In addition to the quietness of the place, Alicia appreciated being able to stay under the hot water for a long time, without being reproached. It was one of her only guilty pleasures. The shower was directly connected to the central boiler, a privilege she was careful not to tell the other girls in her dormitory about.
She sighed at ease as she entered the rather small space, but where she already felt at peace. As if in a secret cocoon. She laid her clothes on a yellowed washbasin, then entered the cabin, without closing the door behind her, so that the light of the moon would help the only bulb in the room to illuminate her pale-skinned body.
Alicia turned on the hot water and let it run abundantly through her hair, resting her forehead on a thin wall, which left some mystery as to what lay on the other side. Curious, she had conducted her little investigation by looking through a small hole in the shower itself. A hole of barely half an eye, but where unfortunately the half-light prevented her from clearly distinguishing what must be the rest of a large room.
It had been several months since she had forgotten even her own existence from what must have been an unfortunate stroke of a workman's drill. At least...until that night, when, as she let her thoughts flow with the water, she heard someone singing on the other side.
The voice filled the room and Alicia, startled, turned off the water so that her presence would not be noticed. The melody continued and she took the time to listen. To her surprise...it was a man's voice. Quite young, it seemed, for there was not yet that deeper side typical of older people.
Anguish gave way to admiration. The person on the other side had a remarkable voice and sang very well. So the young woman sat down on the tile floor, tucking her legs together to keep herself a little warm. But the chill that made her shiver was not enough to dissuade her from religiously listening to this stranger's song. For many minutes she closed her eyes and let herself be lulled by the verses.
It was then that she noticed another noise as she listened: the sound of running water. She then realised, with great surprise, that her secret shower cubicle did indeed have a twin...in the boys' building.
She couldn't help but blush at the situation, both moved by the song and the excitement of brushing against a deliciously forbidden one. She nibbled on one of his fingers, fighting a temptation that made her crave something she only had when she allowed herself some caresses under the blanket.
Kneeling down, she placed her left eye at the hole, but immediately changed her mind, as if her reason forbade her to break the social taboo. Would she dare to indulge her curiosity? After five long minutes of hesitation, carried by the soft voice of this stranger...she succumbed.
Adjusting her view to the brightness of the secret room, she discovered the wet body of the strange singer, his skin pale, his view centred on his hips, offering Alicia's prying eye the spectacle of a firm pair of buttocks. She bit her lower lip. She had never seen anything like it and closed her eyes for a moment in guilty embarrassment, before opening them again so as not to miss anything. Damned for damned...
After a few tens of seconds, the man turned to soap himself and revealed his stomach, as well as his sex. The young woman did not fail to spend a long time on every inch of this body fully revealed to her curiosity. She would have been unable to judge whether the size of this virile member seemingly erect before her corresponded to the unreal fantasies she had built up over the years. The only thing she knew for sure was that her belly was fluttering and her whole being felt desire for this anonymous body.
The stranger finished soaping up and just whistled instead of singing. The spy scene seemed to last for many, many minutes and a doubt began to creep into Alicia's subjugated mind. Absorbed by the exciting novelty, she had not noticed that this stranger seemed to alternate postures in the shower, as if he was playing at being watched. Indeed, he had this way of sometimes presenting himself under a more erotic profile than another, of brushing his fingers over her sex, of sometimes holding it. The confusion set in for good and Alicia withdrew, lowering her eyes, feeling bad at the thought.
"You know, I don't mind you looking at me. »
Alicia gasped and her heart raced. She stood frozen, like a child caught red-handed doing something stupid, as the boy's voice seemed to speak directly to her. Yes, there was no doubt about that. He knew she was there, on the other side.
She squeezed her eyes shut to prevent herself from crying out in shame. Words came with difficulty and she swallowed a sob after long seconds of hesitating to run away.
"Sir...I'm sorry...I don't know what came over me...I shouldn't have done that..."
A small laugh was the response to her even more ridiculous and touching apology with the use of the term 'sir'. There was no doubt that he was an orphan like her and not a teacher.
"Don't be sorry. Besides, you know, it would be a bit of an arse for me to blame you. I'm the one who's watching most of the time. »
The feeling of shame was now mingled with an unease of modesty, shyness and excitement. Dressing with a certain customary dignity, she prepared to be indignant, but swallowed her words, realising that this comical situation had been initiated on both sides of the wall. So, with thoughts racing through her head, she gave the man the opportunity to continue.
"I've been coming here for two years without telling anyone. I think I'm the only one. On your side, three girls have come. But I have to admit that...you are the most beautiful. I can hardly keep my eyes off you. »
Alicia blushed as her only answer. Of course, there was no way she could say that he was telling the truth. After all: he could say the same thing to the other two. But this was her first real contact with the male gender where she was totally exposed, literally and figuratively. So she smiled and hugged her legs as if it were this mysterious stranger.
He didn't say anything for a few moments, just sat down and put his back against the wall. Alicia felt the vibration and her heart vibrated as well. She felt as if nothing separated them. Her heart beat heavily in her chest.
A sort of silent dialogue took place. Neither of them initiated a real conversation, as if their hidden faces and silent names were to remain in the shadows, while only their bodies offered themselves to each other in full light.
He finally asked in a calm and composed voice, a few words that rekindled the fire in the girl's belly.
"Do you want to...look again? »
